A 'dangerous' sex offender from Derbyshire has been jailed after a group of paedophile hunters caught him sending sexually explicit messages to what he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
Zak Waring, 26, was found to have asked the girl to perform sex acts and send him explicit photos and videos, Derby Crown Court heard. He pretended he was 16 years old and said his profile photo just made him "look older".
Unbeknown to Waring, who has a previous conviction for a similar offence, the girl was in fact a decoy set up by a group of self-styled paedophile hunters, Derbyshire Live reports.
Offending While Subject to Court Orders
PC Michelle Azizi, of Derbyshire Police, said: "Zak Waring went on to offend again, despite a previous jail term for a similar offence and ongoing court orders prohibiting him from contacting children.
"His continued desire to communicate sexually with children, for his own sexual gratification and his disregard for the law, make him extremely dangerous.
"Thankfully no actual children were harmed by Waring's offending in this case. I am pleased to see that the judge acknowledged the seriousness of Waring's reoffending by affording him an extended prison sentence for the risk he poses to the public."
Online Platform Conversations
The court was told how Waring, of Lodge Avenue, used online platform Bigo to speak to a young girl, who he believed was 13, before moving their conversations to WhatsApp. He committed the offences while subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order which banned him from using any messaging service to contact a child under 16.
Waring began speaking with the 'girl' in April 2026 and continued to message 'her' for several days. During this time, he also sent a picture and video of himself performing a sex act.
Arrest and Sentencing
Waring was arrested on April 22 and later pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to cause/incite a girl aged 13-15 to engage in sexual activity; attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child; attempting to cause a child aged 13-15 to watch/look at an image of sexual activity and breach Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).
He was handed a jail term of eight years and three months, was also given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and is required to register with police indefinitely.
